Lerner David, Martínez Marcos Fernández, Livne-Luzon Stav, Belmaker Jonathan, Peñuelas Josep, Klein Tamir
Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
CREAF, Cerdanyola de Vallès, Spain.
Nat Plants. 2023 Apr;9(4):544-553. doi: 10.1038/s41477-023-01369-1. Epub 2023 Mar 9.
Understanding the causes of the arrest of species distributions has been a fundamental question in ecology and evolution. These questions are of particular interest for trees owing to their long lifespan and sessile nature. A surge in data availability evokes a macro-ecological analysis to determine the underlying forces limiting distributions. Here we analyse the spatial distribution of >3,600 major tree species to determine geographical areas of range-edge hotspots and find drivers for their arrest. We confirmed biome edges to be strong delineators of distributions. Importantly, we identified a stronger contribution of temperate than tropical biomes to range edges, adding strength to the notion that tropical areas are centres of radiation. We subsequently identified a strong association of range-edge hotspots with steep spatial climatic gradients. We linked spatial and temporal homogeneity and high potential evapotranspiration in the tropics as the strongest predictors of this phenomenon. We propose that the poleward migration of species in light of climate change might be hindered because of steep climatic gradients.
了解物种分布停滞的原因一直是生态学和进化领域的一个基本问题。由于树木寿命长且固着生长的特性，这些问题对树木而言尤为重要。数据可得性的激增引发了宏观生态分析，以确定限制分布的潜在因素。在此，我们分析了3600多种主要树种的空间分布，以确定分布范围边缘热点的地理区域，并找出其停滞的驱动因素。我们证实生物群落边缘是分布的有力界定因素。重要的是，我们发现温带生物群落对分布范围边缘的贡献比热带生物群落更大，这进一步支持了热带地区是辐射中心的观点。随后，我们发现分布范围边缘热点与陡峭的空间气候梯度密切相关。我们将热带地区的空间和时间同质性以及高潜在蒸散量联系起来，作为这一现象的最强预测因子。我们认为，鉴于气候梯度陡峭，气候变化导致的物种向极地迁移可能会受到阻碍。
